Air outlet register



C. O. GRINER AIR OUTLET REGISTER May 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 1, 1954 INVENTOR CZarence O. Grzfier.

BY 02:} a TORNEY May 13, 1958 c, o, RINER 2,834,281

AIR OUTLET REGISTER Filed Feb. 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6a Z9 Z6 j i INVENTOB T & Clarence O.Gr1ner BY CLCPM ORNEY United States Patent AIR OUTLET REGISTER Clarence O. 'Griner, Ceresco, Mich assignor to United States Register Company, Battle Creek, Mich, a corporation o'f'Michigan Application February 1, .1954, Serial No. 407,293

7 Claims. c1. 98-108) be present invention relates :broadly to dampered .apparatus, and in its specific phases to a strip baseboard register.

Long, thinand moderately low baseboardregisters for connection 10 ;hot air furnace systems are of a recent advent. Registers of this type .now .on the market have no :darnpers in zthemconnected above the fioonlevel and de- .pend, where any Jdampering is -.to be effected, upon either a butterfly damper in the main pipe line leading from the furnace to :the register, or else on having a damperin the bottom of "the register where the 'hot .air :pipe connects to it. Register constructions of these current types give poor distribution :of :air out of same and, "based on good heating principles, are makeshift at best. :It was a recognition of th'issituation :and the definite needof something to2meetithedemand for a satisfactory and efficient :type of relatively thin and elongated strip baseboard register for hot air and :air conditioning systems adapted to blend in with modern room furnishings and trim which .led to the conception and :development of the present invention.

Accordingly among the objects f the present invention is the provision :of a highly efficient strip baseboard register having a pleasing appearance and an exceptionally good distribution of "air delivered through same.

Another object is to provide a strip baseboard register with an end-wise adjustable air distributing baffle or di- =ve-rter adapted to be mounted above the :air inlet in the "bottom -'of the "register.

Another object is to provide a strip baseboard register which is adapted for shipment in knocked down nested manner, and which facilitates cutting a hot air inlet opening into the bottom of the register at the point best suited to the position in which the register is to be set and the point to which the hot air deliver-y pipe can be brought up through the floor.

A furt'herobject is to provide a'strip baseboard register with a special bottom portion having an elongated air inlet opening therein which has a slidable gate member at each end of same to permit length-wise adjustment of the opening size and position over a considerable range to adapt the register to different points of "bottom connection through a boot joined to the hot air pipe leading from the furnace.

A still further object is to provide a strip baseboard register having a plenum chamber type of construction adapted to maintain ,a relatively uniform air pressure, in excess of atmospheric, throughout the interior of same and :with an air outlet grill work-adjacent the top of such register.

A still further-object is to provide such strip baseboard register with a damper adjacent the air outlet 'grill in its upper portion, said damper being hinged to facilitate the plenum chamber air pressure balancing elfect, and also to direct airflow out of said register, when said damper is eitherpartiallyor fully opened, so that such air travels in a generally upward direction to blanketthe space above and behind the register with an elongated stream of flowmg fill.

2,834,281 Patented May 13, 1958 .A still further object of the present invention is to make the strip baseboard registers with removable :end members such that if an extra long register is desired with one .or more air connections to the bottom-of same, the adjacent end panels of the registers to be joined can be removed and a joiner member placed over the joint and which joiner member will have openings matching the end panel joining holes in the base register so as to facilitate fastening the registers firmly in position end to end. 7

Still further objects and advantages of this invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, consists of the register and combinations hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings, and the following description, setting forth in detail certain means of-carrying out the invention, such disclosedmeans illustrating, however, but several of the various ways in which the principle-of the invention may be used.

In the annexed drawings:

Figure -1 is a front perspective view of a preferred'form of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken at line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. I

Figure 2a is a cross sectional view of a modified register.

Figure 3 is a top view of one form of the bottom member of the strip baseboard register illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective fragmentary end view of the bottom member as seen at line 44 of Figure'S, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the baffle and a ifragmentary portion of the member for mounting same on :the back faceof the front panel of the register.

Figure '6 is an enlarged front perspective view of a member adapted for use in joining the ends of ltwozstrip baseboard members together after the adjacent end-panels of same have been removed.

Figure 7 shows a-top view of a modified form of .a bottom panel usable in the register shown in Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken at line'8-*8 ofFigure 7, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that the hollow housing or strip baseboard register -1 comprises a front panel 12., .a composite back and top panel 3, end panels 4 and 5, a bottom panel 6, a baffle 7, and a damper 8.

The bottom panel '6 is provided with a series ofraised and out-turned hook-shaped'lugs '9 along both side edges, and with perforations '10 adapted for use in anchoring same to the floor 25, Figure 2, as by means of screws :11. The lower edges of frontpanel 2 and :back panel 3 are turned in and adaptedto'fit under these hook-shaped-lugs 9-of the bottom member to form-a stabilized-interengaged construction. End members 41al'ld5 come inrights and lefts with inturned edge-flanges having holes aligned with .holes in the side edges of front panel 2for the reception of screws 12, and like holes aligned withholesinrtheside edges of back panel 3for the reception of screws .13. .It is thus to be seen that it is a very simple matter to .assemble the strip baseboard regitser of the present invention for mounting at any desired point along the wall.

Mounted lengthwise on the inner face of front pane'fll 2, preferably nearmid-height of same, is a relatively long open-topped strip member 14, Figure 2, of substantially *Z-shape in cross section which can be spot welded *or otherwise conventionally fastened to same. A baflle member 7, which 'is wide at its front edge, and preferably as wide as the length of the air inlet opening in the bottom 6 of the register, tapers back to a relatively narrow and free rear edge, Figures 1, 2, and 5, and is provided with a down-turned front flange 15 adapted to fit in the slot between the upper portion of strip member 14 and front panel 2, while allowing baffie member 7 to be slid endwise so that it can be positioned as desired above the air inlet in the bottom of the register. This special shape of the baffle 7 facilitates spreading endwise of the register part of the air flowing therein to thus help in equalizing the air pressure throughout the interior of the register. In order to hold ibaffle 7 locked firmly in place and yet be endwise adjustable, flange 15 of that battle and the upper portion of strip member 14 may be provided with matching longitudinal interlocking ribs or the like 16.

Front panel 2 adjacent its upper front edge is provided with a grill in the form of a series of upwardly opening slits 17 which are undercovered and closed when damper 8 is moved to closed position. This damper is provided with a longitudinally extending rounded rear edge portion 18, which may be reinforced as shown if desired. The back edge of this damper closely fits into a corresponding shaped socket 19 of friction hinge member 20, which adjustably grips this rounded edge portion 18 of the damper and forces the opposite side of same up against a suitable stop member 31 with frictional adjustment being made by means of upper screws 12 or the like. This damper 8 is adapted to extend from end to end of the register and all the way across from front to back of the under face of slits 17. Such damper, for instance, may be operated by means of a conventional operating handle 21, which projects out through slot 22 in front panel 2 of the register, and is movable lengthwise of said slot which carries an adjustable stop member 23 which, in turn, is adapted to be moved lengthwise of said slot and tightened at any predetermined point to preset the extent of opening said damper without interfering with the closing of same.

If these baseboard registers are to be mounted end to end in multiples of two or more, the adjacent end panels 4 and can be removed and the joiner member 24, Figure 6, used to overlap and seal the joint between the adjacent ends of the registers to be joined. This joiner member 24 is provided with openings 25 in alignment with the corresponding openings in front panel 2 for the reception of screws 12. Thus the screws removed when taking out the adjacent end panels 4.and 5 of the registers may be used to join their adjacent front panels 2 together by means of the joiner member 24.

While the bottom panel 6, Figure 3, may have a suitable inlet opening readily cut into it at the time of installation so as to fit the boot (not shown) extending up through floor 26, which is a difiicult procedure with the ordinary baseboard registers which have the bottom panel spot welded in place, an even more convenient type of construction is shown in Figures 7 and 8. In that construction the bottom panel 6a is provided with a longitudinal cutout portion 27 which is considerably longer than the sidewise length of the boot of the air pipe to be connected to the register. At opposite sides of the ends of such cutout portion 27 there are provided hook-shaped elongated lugs 28 and shorter lugs 29 adapted to engage the side edges of a pair of endwise slidable gate members 30. It is thus to be seen that the strip baseboard register 1 with a bottom panel 6a can be'adjusted endwise in either direction over a considerable range to fit the location of the air inlet to the desired position of the register and yet permit the endwise movable gate members to be moved up against the end edges of the air duct boot (not shown) to make a satisfactory fit with various length boots without requiring cutting the bottom panel on the job.

A modified form of the hollow housing or air outlet register is shown in Figure 2a wherein the back panel 3a is provided with a shallow recess 32 at its lower end while its upper end has a substantially flat forward extending portion or top 33 which terminates in a rounded downturned front edge portion 34, with an upward extending recess portion 35 behind same with the back of said recess portion being in the form of a downward extending member 36. Behind this downward extending member 36 is a supporting member 37 which is preferably in the form of a series of spaced apart clips. The lower front edge 38 of these clips preferably turns forward below the bottom edge of downward extending member 36 and acts in conventional manner as one half of the damper hinge, with an extending portion of the upper edge of damper 8a forming the other half of such hinge, said damper 811 having an operating handle 21a mounted thereon, and accessibly projecting out of the front of said register assembly. If desired, that operating handle may have a backwardly extending portion 39 with an arcuate serrated edge 40 adapted to engage a spring type detent member 41 which, if desired, may be spot welded or otherwise fastened to back panel 3a, said arcuate member and detent acting to hold said damper in various positions between closed and wide open.

Front panel 2a has an upwardly extending top edge member 42 adapted to fit relatively tightly into recess 35 and rest with its lower edge on or just above the forward turned lower edge portion 38 of the supporting clips 37. Such construction forms an interlocking joint avoiding the need of screws or the like for satisfactorily holding the parts together at this point. This front panel 2a is provided, as before, with a grill in the form of slits 17a in accordance with the general construction shown in Figure l. The lower edge of front panel 2a and rear panel 3a are joined to a bottom panel 6b, respectively, by means of screws 12a and 13a. This bottom panel 6b is preferably provided with sidewise projecting front and rear edge grooves 43 and 44, and upturned front and rear edge portions 45 and 46 which are the portions engaged by said screws 12a and 13a. These edge grooves 43 and 44 are adapted to slidably receive the side edges of slide members 30a which are usable the same as the slide members 30 of bottom panel 16a shown in Figure 7.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a very simple, effective, novel, and advantageous air outlet register construction has been provided for attaining the desired ends, and while preferences have been disclosed by way of providing a plenum chamber type of assembly with the outlet grill and damper in the top portion of same, and a special type of bottom member, attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations, some of which have been mentioned, within the scope of the invention. The directional terms upper, upward, downward, front, bottom, upright," et cetera, are also to be considered as purely explanatory and not limiting on the construction illustrated and described.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of those explained, change being made as regards the air outlet register assembly and combinations herein disclosed, provided that the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. An air outlet register for delivery of preconditioned air therethrough, which comprises a single compartment hollow housing having a front, back, ends, and top with an outlet located wholly in its upper portion and extending substantially from end to end thereof, said front and back members having engageable lower edges, a bottom member for said housing, said bottom member having an inlet for admitting said preconditioned air into said housing, said bottom member also having upwardly extending outturned ears for engagement with said engagea-ble lower edges of said front and back members of said housing, as well as upwardly extending inturned ears adjacent its side edges, and gate members for varying the length and position of said inlet, said gate members slidably fitting said inturned ears, a damper hinged adjacent the rear edge of said outlet portion, and means for controlling the operation of said damper and the air flow through said outlet portion.

2. In an air outlet register as set forth in claim 1, wherein said outlet portion of said housing faces in a generally upward direction, and the major portion of the hollow space in said register is below said outlet portion to thus produce a plenum chamber effect with moderate equalizing of the air outlet pressure full length of said outlet portion, and wherein said damper is hinged a substantial distance forward from said back but adjacent to and at the rear of said outlet portion and adapted to swing downward to permit air flow upward along the front side of said housing and out of the outlet portion of said register in an upward direction when the latter is mounted in upright position.

3. An elongated strip baseboard register for delivery therethrough of preconditioned air, which comprises a single compartment hollow housing having a front, back, ends and top walls, the front wall including a relatively short section depending from the front of the top wall and then curved outwardly and directed downwardly to the bottom of the housing, an upwardly opening outlet grill located wholly in the upper curved portion of the front wall and terminating forwardly of said back wall and at the lower edge of the short front wall section and extending substantially the full length thereof to form an air flow blanket extending generally upwardly and forwardly of said register, a bottom member for said housing, said bottom member having an opening therethrough for inlet of preconditioned air into said housing, a damper in the top portion hinged at its upper edge to the lower edge of the short front wall section above the grill and occupying a substantially horizontal position when closed and the other edge swinging downwardly to cause the damper to occupy a substantially vertical position and direct air flow at the front side of the housing, means for controlling the operation of said damper and the air flow through said grill, and an air baffle within said housing mounted on and projecting rearwardly from the front of the housing below said damper and spaced above said bottom member a substantial distance and adjustably positionable over the inlet to and lengthwise of said housing.

4. In an elongated strip baseboard register as set forth in claim 3, wherein the major portion of the hollow space in the hollow housing portion of said register is both below and behind said outlet grill to thus produce a plenum chamber eifect which, in combination with the air baflie over the inlet to said housing, acts to effect moderate equalizing of the air outlet pressure full length of said outlet grill.

5. An elongated strip baseboard register for delivery therethrough of preconditioned air, which comprises a single compartment hollow housing having a front, back, ends and top with an upwardly opening outlet grill located wholly in its upper portion, but forward of said back, and

extending substantially full length thereof to form an air flow blanket extending generally upwardly and forwardly of said register, a bottom member for said housing, said bottom member having an opening therethrough for inlet of preconditioned air into said housing, a damper in the top portion of said housing adjacent said outlet grill, means for controlling the operation of said damper and the air flow through said grill, and an air baffle within said housing below said damper and spaced above said bottom member a substantial distance and adjustably positionable over the inlet to and lengthwise of said housing, interengaging means within said housing for adjusting the location of said air 'bafiie lengthwise of said housing, said interengaging means comprising a strip member extending lengthwise of said housing between said bottom and said outlet grill, said strip member forming an open edge channel, and said baffle having an angularly extending edge portion fitting said open edge channel and movable lengthwise thereof.

6. An elongated strip baseboard register for delivery therethrough of preconditioned air, which comprises a single compartment hollow housing having a front, back, ends and top with an upwardly opening outlet grill located wholly in its upper portion, but forward of said back, and extending substantially full length thereof to form an air flow blanket extending generally upwardly and forwardly of said register, a bottom member for said housing, said bottom member having an opening therethrough for inlet of preconditioned air into said housing, a damper in the top portion of said housing adjacent said outlet grill, means for controlling the operation of said damper and the air flow through said grill, and an air baffle within said housing below said damper and spaced above said bottom member a substantial distance and adjustably positionable over the inlet to and lengthwise of said housing, the front portion of said housing having mounted longitudinally on the inner face thereof a substantially Z-shaped member, and said air bafiie has one edge bent at an angle thereto so as to engage and closely fit the open space between said Z-shaped member and the front portion of said housing to facilitate endwise adjustment of said baflie while allowing the body portion of same to remain in substantially fixed space relation to the bottom member of said housing, said engaged portions of said Z-shaped member and said bafiie having an interengaging rib and groove to hold them in engagement.

7. In a strip baseboard register as set forth in claim 3, wherein said damper is hinged a substantial distance forward from said back but adjacent to and at the rear edge of said outlet grill and adapted to swing downwardly and backwardly to permit air flow upwardly along the front side of said housing and out of the outlet portion of said register in an upward direction when the latter is mounted in upright position, the operating means for the damper including handle for pivotally moving said damper, said handle projecting out through a suitable slot in the upper front portion of said housing, and adjustable means extending through said slot for variably adjusting the extent to which said damper can be opened, said front and back members having inturned bottom edges and said bottom member having a series of hook-shaped tongues on its side edges for engagement with said inturned edges of said front and back members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,017,407 Hart et al. Oct. 15, 1935 2,250,330 Eastwood et a] July 22, 1941 2,359,505 Barnes Oct. 3, 1944 2,516,871 Haugen Aug. 1, 1950 2,524,230 Martin Oct. 3, 1950 2,541,346 De Roo Feb. 13, 1951 2,553,866 Olson et a1 May 22, 1951 2,639,655 Whitehead May 26, 1953 2,662,747 Trane et al Dec. 15, 1953 7 2,745,332 Cotts May 15, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 525,222 Great Britain Aug. 23, 1940 139,091 Sweden Feb. 10, 1953 

